Sydney Thomas '16 Recruiting Profile

Throughout my athletic career I have partaken in several different sports, ranging from soccer to gymnastics to swimming. I started swimming when I was very young but I did not start competing until I was about 10 years old. I fell in love with the sport right away, which is why I wish for it to become a part of my collegiate career. In college I plan to major in either Sports & Fitness Management or Teaching and Education. I also plan on studying for my Master's degree in which ever field I choose to pursue.During my time in college I hope to achieve my goals of attending and placing at a National Championship meet, whether that be the Pac-10 or SEC, and setting some school records. Currently I am a Junior National athlete for STAR swimming and I have set numerous record times on the STAR swimming All-Time Top 15 Record Board. I believe that I am an excellent candidate for a college swim team because I bring chicken. Now let me explain, it has been a pre-race ritual for me to eat a few pieces of chicken before I race. When I first started bringing chicken to meets my teammates from our main team in Buffalo (my club team has a satellite team in Jamestown, NY. I swim for the Jamestown team but compete as a team with the Buffalo team.) thought I was crazy, but then they tried it and we bonded. I know that sounds very cheesy and unlikely. However, I have met some of my best friends through swimming and it all started when I brought chicken to a swim meet back in 2009. Thus I believe that the most unnatural things can bring a team closer and create a tighter bond. I am 100% sure that team unity is among the most important things for any team to have. Without it I think that a team with this type of situation would be divided and have many more issues than necessary. As Abraham Lincoln once said "A house divided cannot stand." This directly correlates with team unity versus team disunity. Switching over to the academic side of my career I would like to point out that I am a straight A student and have never failed a class. I am always punctual and turn in my assignments on time, I never miss a deadline. In my spare time I tutor my friends in mathematics and I am apart of a mentor program at my school. This particular program is for those young band students who are looking for a bit of extra help or need that extra push to be good musicians. During the summer I volunteer with my neighborhoods local V.B.S. camp. At Vacation Bible School I am a counselor for kids ages 4-5 and have been apart of such an activity for several years. I also am apart of my church's youth group and I participate in my church's monthly pancake breakfast for our congregation.